First Step Marketing

Even in an era where mandatory retirement ages are .creeping higher and higher, corporate managers need to plan for their own transitions from the seat of power to new roles and other activities.

For some, a top consideration is perpetuating a philosophy of business that they feel they have helped their companies develop. They want to know that what they have contributed to the corporate culture and success will not be lost.

Others are more pragmatic. They accept that new management must set its own standards and tone. They put their energies into planning for their own futures elsewhere.

There are many managers who don’t care too deeply about what happens to their organizations after they leave. Such managers recognize that corporations are, by their nature, designed to survive the individual employee, and they, therefore, see little value in staying too emotionally involved.

But any lack of concern you may feel after you’re gone is not quite the same as what you might feel while you’re still in command, yet with the end in sight. Advises a Florida manager who is in this category: “One must recognize the deleterious effects of the aging process and plan ahead for the change in command. This plan—to gradually loosen the reins—should be implemented many years before it becomes necessary to turn things over to your successor.”

What worries this manager, and others, is that the ego-gratifying, on-top-of-it-all role they now have in their organization will be eroded. You find yourself not advised of certain projects, not informed of certain meetings, listened to not quite so closely, not quite as persuasive as you used to be. Worse, you may find there is little you can do about it. Somehow, the decision has been made, the process set in motion without any conscious action on your part.

Let’s assume the above possibility looks pretty dismal to you. That is, retirement is still a few years away, and you’d like to be sure that you lose nothing while you’re still Number One in your operation. You’d also like to have some options after you step down. Are there some precautions you might take to be sure that will happen? Here’s some counsel that might prove helpful:

• Hang on to your vigor. Though age does take its insidious toll, “old” is more a matter of attitude than of actuality. If you maintain your accustomed pace (remain as active as you ever were), then those around you are less likely to pick up signals that could work against you. By the same token, you yourself are less likely to pick up negative signals if your attitude toward continued activity remains as positive as it ever was.

• Keep your viewpoint progressive. If managers are seen as obstacles to younger managers in the organization because they represent an outmoded viewpoint, then the process of easing out will probably begin sooner. Youth—like it or not—will be served. So, if you want to avoid the behind-the-back smirks, the head shakes, the tones of voice that convey more than words, you’d do best to concentrate as hard as possible on what is happening right now, rather than on the events and lessons of your long years of experience. Your experience is an asset, but only if you can make it relevant to today’s new problems.

• Mind the store. While it’s tempting to think that, since you’ve paid your dues, you’re entitled to some rest and recreation while others do the work, this is also dangerous. Much can happen while you’re on an extended vacation or away from your desk for long, unaccounted-for periods. Your disengagement will be observed, noted and eventually become part of a negative equation by which you are judged. If you want to stay on top of the business, you have to be there physically and mentally.

• Stay oriented. You can’t really afford to let changes occur that do not have your concurrence—even those that are relatively small. “I learned that I hadn’t been given a copy of an interim report on a new product,” notes a manager in his sixties. “I immediately made a phone call and made damned sure that wasn’t going to happen again.” If you still have important contributions to make, be sure they are heard.

• Take on new activities, other roles. The more useful you are to your organization, the less likely you are to be discarded. Thus, as a senior executive, it would pay to go after whatever opportunity there may be in your bailiwick to expand your political and community contacts. If you’re seen as having the ability to extend your organization’s influence, help it reach its objectives without political interference and enable it to stay out of trouble, then it’s likely you will continue to be valued. You probably have important outside contacts that are very useful to your company. Keep them alive.

• Stay political within the organization. Success in a corporate setting is often as much a product of personal relationships as of native talent or ability. Whether or not this is true in your case, it can still be important—even essential—to keep your relationships as warm as possible with those who have helped you in the past and who could help you in the future. Keep up with the people you have mentored over the years.

• Consider your successor. By now, you should have established a solid, over-the-years relationship with a younger manager who is clearly perceived as being the logical candidate to succeed you. If you haven’t, then there is no time to waste. Your objective: the career development of someone who will implement not only what is good for the organization but also what is good for you. A tall order, perhaps, but worth exploring.

Observation: It’s only realistic to assume that there are ambitious people in your operation who want—and perhaps deserve—the power, pay and prestige that your position commands. Their desire to see you go may have less to do with their personal opinion of you than with their own needs. They may also be influential with those who control your span of office. About the only way you can deal with this sort of pressure is to plan as carefully as possible, try to be as unique and irreplaceable as you know how—and then, with grace and dignity, head out under your own timetable with your worthwhile plans for the future.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Transition From Power as You Grow Older

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 10:35 pm and is filed under Business Management, Career Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.